OTTAWA — China’s embassy in Canada says a Canadian MP’s visit to Taiwan crosses a “red line” at a time when Ottawa is attempting to rebuild its relationship with Beijing.
Conservative MP Michael Chong is in Taiwan this week to meet with Taiwanese officials and assert Canadian sovereignty after China’s ambassador to Canada warned MPs against travelling to Taiwan in an interview with the Globe and Mail in April.
Although Taiwan considers itself an independent nation, Canada’s official position neither challenges nor endorses China’s claim on the island — yet still treats Taiwan as part of the government’s long-standing One China Policy.
A spokesperson for China’s embassy in Canada told The Canadian Press in an email Monday a “certain Canadian MP’s visit to the Taiwan region” and his meetings with Taiwanese officials sends a “wrong message of support for ‘Taiwan independence.'”
“China firmly opposes this,” the statement read.
Such a visit violates the One China principle, the spokesperson continued, which is an “inviolable red line for Canada-China relations.”
The embassy urged Canada to abide by the One China Policy and “refrain from interfering in China’s internal affairs.”
Chong said in a social media post on Sunday that Canada does not take direction from foreign governments on where MPs can travel, adding Taiwan is “a democracy on the frontlines of threats coming from authoritarian states.”
He said the purpose of his trip was to show solidarity with Taiwan and “to assert Canadian sovereignty” in the face of the Chinese ambassador’s warning.
The Conservative MP’s visit comes after Prime Minister Mark Carney visited China in January to deepen trade and cultural ties between the nations. Carney emerged with a deal to reduce China’s tariffs on some Canadian agricultural exports in exchange for allowing some Chinese-made electric vehicle imports into the country, among other adjustments.
The Prime Minister’s Office marked the mission as a “turning point” for the Canada-China relationship.
In the Globe and Mail interview, Beijing’s envoy Wang Di said he was optimistic that previously icy relations between Canada and China were warming but he said official visits from Canadian parliamentarians to Taiwan would risk setting back progress.
On Monday, Chong posted readouts from conversations he had with two Taiwanese officials. Topics discussed ranged from bilateral trade and investment, security in the Indo-Pacific region and Taiwan’s participation in international organizations.
A statement from the Conservative Party said Chong would be in Taiwan until Thursday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 18, 2026.
Craig Lord, The Canadian Press
